Srinagar, Dec 16: The promotions and transfers in the middle-rung administration affected by the government on Wednesday have come under sharp criticism from different quarters after many ‘discrepancies’ have cropped up in the restructuring move.
Sources told Greater Kashmir that many officials have expressed their resentment over the ‘glaring discrepancies’ in order no. 1429-GAD issued by General Administration Department (GAD) on 14-12-2011. The aggrieved officials, promoted in the said order, complain that instead of being elevated to higher positions in the hierarchy as per the normal procedure, they have been subjected to “demotion” by posting them against lower-rung posts.
As per the said order, the state government affected promotion and consequent posting of more than one hundred KAS officers serving in different departments after it adopted the recommendations of the Sameul Verghese committee which was constituted to probe “out-of-turn” promotions to many such officers in 2008 and victimisation, if any, of the deserving candidates.
Sources said many aggrieved officials who figure in the list have already taken up the matter with the departments concerned.
Quoting instances, sources said few officials working as Additional District Development Commissioners (ADC) have been transferred and posted as Program Officers in Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) run by the Social Welfare Department. “The post of ADC is at par with Additional Secretary to the government while the Program Officer is equivalent to an Under Secretary,” said an aggrieved officer.
While an ADC is after the District Development Commissioner an overarching authority in a district to oversee functioning of various line departments including the ICDS, the Program Officer’s powers are limited to a “small sphere” within the Social Welfare Department.
Similarly in another classic case of discrepancy, a senior officer who was functioning as Deputy Director, ICDS, in the Directorate of Social Welfare, was, as per said order, transferred and posted as Program Officer ICDS in the same department.
Deputy Director is a position at divisional level while as Program Officer is a position at district level. And as per the official protocol all the ICDS Program Officers have to report to the Deputy Director (ICDS).
According to sources in the administration, an ICDS Program Officer has to report to the DDC or ADC in the district and to the Deputy Director (ICDS) at the Directorate of Social Welfare department.
However, Commissioner Secretary, GAD, Muhammad Sayeed Khan said Program Officer’s position is equivalent to that of an ADC. “It is a key position. The official (PO) does not report to ADC. He is not subordinate to ADC but DC,” Khan told Greater Kashmir.
Another senior official in GAD said SRO-368 issued by the GAD sometime back makes it clear that Program Officer ICDS is equivalent to the position of ADC.
Commissioner/Secretary, GAD, said through the transfer order government has gone for cadre rationalization.
The aggrieved officers allege that the promotions were ‘manipulated’ to benefit some officers in the Secretariat and Revenue services while others have been left high and dry.
CSE qualified candidates wait for posting
Meanwhile, according to local news gathering agency KNS more than three months after they qualified the prestigious Combined Services Examination (CSE), the selected candidates are yet to join their duties.
189 candidates were declared successful on 2 September 2011, when J&K Public Service Commission completed the CSE process in a record period of less than one year.
After referring the successful candidates for medical examination in Medical College Jammu and Medical College Srinagar, the final report was submitted to the Public Service Commission in the first week of the October. According to the officials in the Public Service Commission the final selection list along with the medical report was submitted to the GAD on 22 November 2011. However GAD is yet to take any action on the matter.
“It takes less than a month for the government to allocate the services and issue appointment orders after the declaration of results” Aabid, a successful candidate told KNS.
“However, in our case it has been more than three months and there is no word from the government,” he added.
Commissioner/Secretary, GAD Muhammad Syed Khan told KNS that the delay was because of certain formalities. “A detailed examination of the papers of the selected candidates has to be done. Posts will be allotted to them soon,” Khan told KNS.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 17 Dec 2011 00:00:00 IST